Alright, you prestigi you, we are going to law school, and thus have carried ourselves this far down the path towards achievement. I have a few questions, though. Feel free to answer just one if you want to, or, you know, none at all if you can't be bothered.

1. To what extent will global climate change affect your personal future? (1 - not at all, 10 - see myself at a working lunch joining Costner in a tall cup of my own pee)

2. Do you believe in carbon-emission-induced global warming? If you do have faith in climate change science, what do you think the solution is? Technological? Policy? Taxation? Age-of-aquarius like mass enlightenment?

3. Do you think that climate change is being talked about too much? Not enough? Don't care?

4. How far would you be willing to sacrifice standard of living to share responsiblity for pollution? driving? consumption?

5. Do you think America will continue to lag behind other countries in taking responsibility for climate change? Which country (ies) do you think will lead the climate change mitigation discourse in the future?

As for my answers:1. I think that climate change will greatly impact my future, not so much physically, however, but socially. I believe this because I know that economic losses are accruing from continued environmental degredation (mind you, not only due to climate change), and that these changes are right now taking money and future opportunities away from me by depreciating my health, investments, etc. These economic losses will only become greater without better international cooperation. I think that this cooperation, however, won't happen until short term economic losses are more substantially incorperated into GDP calculations, and that these Green GDP calculations show losses bad enough to induce countries to start aiming missiles at other countries and threatening economic sanction or even war in order to attain emission mitigation treaty compliance.

2. I believe in global climate change. I think that it can be fixed through national government manipulation of social policies such as taxation, but that these social policies will take on very different forms in different political and cultural contexts.

3. I dont think enough people are talking about climate change, including people of our generation. I think that many don't realize how important the coming period in human life is going to be. However, I also believe that climate change can only induce the realization of a better future; although difficult in the short term, the necessity of dealing with climate change will induce economic incentives for a rapid explosion in renewable resource technology development, which once implemented, will change human life forever.

4. I have to say that here is where I diverge from pure hippie. I am not willing to go and live on an organic commune in order to make my stand against climate change. I believe that in order to induce real change, I will need to work from within the dominant wasteful system. Unfortunately, this means for me a modern catholic guilt every time I turn on a light, knowing that by doing so I am supporting the creation of hazardous waste matter which could be around for thousands of years. I don't think rejecting the system outright is the right way, though; rather we have to work from within, and hopefully, at the top of the system in order to achieve greatness.

5. Yes, I think America will continue to lag behind other countries in changing resource use practices. However, I don't think this because I believe that the majority of Americans are selfish or morally inferior or whatnot. Rather, I believe that the path dependency of this American system, built on cheap energy, physically prevents America from making great strides in the development of renewable energy production technology. I believe that China, as the new economic superpower which has, for the most part, avoided developing an oil-fueled infrastructure, will be able to leap-frog over America by using systemic contexts of the Chinese political economy to develop more sustainable use habits.

These are my ideas. Flame them if you feel the need to do so, but better than just attacking my ideas, please tell me what you think about climate change. Please. I really think everyday people need to start talking about this as if it were inevitable. Make like its your responsibility, even if its just on an internet post board. Who knows? It might help.